regionals

Banks pay next to nothing on deposits while charging a rate that is often linked to treasuries on the loans they make. The steeper the curve, the wider the "margin". And given the leverage inherent in the banking system, even a small margin…

According to an analysis by Reuters, small and medium-sized banks in the US have started to take on risk as the squeeze in net interest margins is beginning to hurt profitability. The goal is to boost returns despite the low-interest rate…

This is a continuation of yesterday's post on the outlook in the banking sector. Two years ago, I said that net interest margins at banks would get crushed by the Fed's keeping interest rates low because it would cause the yield curve to…

The video below from the Wall Street Journal gets at the heart of why the bailouts have been so toxic for the economy. Banks, still laden with existing bad loans to small businesses, are unwilling to make new ones. Businesses, unable to…

Today, I received a press release from the complete list of federal government regulators of the financial industry which all but ordering banks to lend to small businesses. Clearly, regulators are concerned as comments by Marc Chandler…

CNBC's Diana Olick has the breaking story on alleged fraud in the mortgage industry. She has been writing about this for a few days now. See Big Banks Accused of Short Sale Fraud - Realty Check with Diana Olick at CNBC’s website.…

I have been largely silent about the recent populist call to arms by Arianna Huffington and Rob Johnson. The duo advise Americans to withdraw their money from bank accounts at too-big-to-fail financial institutions and deposit them in a…

This clip will give you a better indicator of small lenders’ agenda as they met with the President to talk about expanding lending. The only commentary I would note is the desire by the IBCA President to allow the FDIC to keep its…

You kind of knew this was going to happen. Given the fact that AmTrust Financial, the holding company filed bankruptcy (see my story here) after a bit of asset stripping, the FDIC was forced to come in and seize the banking subsidiary…

Recently, I have been writing a lot about regional banks and the capital problems they have been having. This is having a direct impact on lending capacity available to small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) and households. As a result, a…